Molecular sieve materials, both natural and synthetic, have been demonstrated in the past to be useful as adsorbents and to have catalytic properties for various types of organic conversion reactions. Certain molecular sieves, such as zeolites, aluminophosphates, and mesoporous materials, are ordered, porous crystalline materials having a definite crystalline structure as determined by X-ray diffraction. Within the crystalline molecular sieve material there are a large number of cavities which may be interconnected by a number of channels or pores. These cavities and pores are uniform in size within a specific molecular sieve material. Because the dimensions of these pores are such as to accept for adsorption molecules of certain dimensions while rejecting those of larger dimensions, these materials have come to be known as “molecular sieves” and are utilized in a variety of industrial processes.
Although many different crystalline molecular sieves have been discovered, there is a continuing need for new molecular sieves with desirable properties for gas separation and drying, organic conversion reactions, and other applications. New molecular sieves can contain novel internal pore architectures, providing enhanced selectivities in these processes.